


The Price

by Sintari (OriginalSintari)



Series: Sintari's Naruto Drabbles and Very Short Fics [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 08:15:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 95
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13994214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OriginalSintari/pseuds/Sintari
Summary: The price you pay. The Sandaime's final thoughts. 100 word drabble.





	The Price

**Author's Note:**

> The point in the Naruto anime where the Third Hokage fights Orochimaru for the last time, clinging to him to stop him, always struck me as the angstiest point in an anime all about the weight of the past. As the Sandaime slowly closes his eyes, the grown, crazed Orochimaru transforms in his mind's eye into the scared, haunted young boy he once failed. 
> 
> Originally published on LiveJournal in 2005. My 2nd favorite thing I've ever written.

Some say a man is born with the potential for evil inside him. Some say it is shaped. I never claimed to be wise, but I am certain of one thing - we pay and pay for our sins. 

When we found the bodies in the lab, I saw clearly for the first time the man that the boy had become. 

And as I stand prepared to die, I see clearly for the first time the boy the man has been. 

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

I am sorry.

But I won’t let go.


End file.
